Enrichment · Wellbeing

Questions middle schoolers
will actually answer.

Middle school runs on friendships, group chats, grades and teams. These cards meet students there, across the five skill areas schools teach, with a follow-up for every question and a write, pair, share timer so everyone gets a turn.

Make an advisory deckWhat you get

Deal a deck for advisory or a class circle

The worked example is made up: a month of grade 7 advisory cards and a grade 8 online-life deck. The page keeps the cards and your notes, not what students say.

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What you get

Enrichment · WellbeingFree

What you finish with
A deck of 6, 10 or 15 discussion questions for one middle school class, each with a follow-up, run with a three-part write, pair, share timer and noted for the next session.
Who it is for
Middle school advisory teachers, homeroom and health teachers, school counselors and club advisers working with grades 6 to 8.
Format
Browser card generator with saved decks and a three-phase timer. Prints the cards to cut out or as a list; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Wellbeing space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Choose one or two skill areas and the settings that fit your group.
  2. Agree on norms: anyone may pass, what is shared stays in the room.
  3. Show a card and run the timer: write alone, talk in pairs, share with the group.
  4. Use the follow-up when the talk stalls.
  5. Mark the card used and note what to come back to.

Make an advisory deck

Why SEL looks different in middle school

Five skill areas in middle school lifeSkill areaA card from the pageSelf-awarenessWhich class makes you feel most confident?Self-managementHow do you start homework when you do not feel like it?Social awarenessHow can you tell if a classmate is having a bad day?Relationship skillsHow do you say no without losing the friendship?Responsible decisionsBefore you post a photo of someone, what do you weigh?Five skill areas in middle school lifeSelf-awarenessA card from the page: Which class makes you feel most confident?Self-managementA card from the page: How do you start homework when you do not feel like it?Social awarenessA card from the page: How can you tell if a classmate is having a bad day?Relationship skillsA card from the page: How do you say no without losing the friendship?Responsible decisionsA card from the page: Before you post a photo of someone, what do you weigh?
Drawn for this page. The five areas follow the framework most schools use.

The evidence

School programs that teach these five skill areas improve students’ social behavior and academic results on average, and a follow-up analysis found benefits still visible months to years later.

Meet them where they are

Young adolescents care intensely about peers and fairness, and quickly tune out lessons that feel babyish or preachy. Questions set in their own world, with peer talk before whole-class sharing, tend to work better.

Write, pair, share

A minute of writing before talking gives quieter students something to say, and pair talk before sharing out means everyone speaks at least once.

Sources

  1. Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405 to 432. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x
  2. Taylor, R. D., Oberle, E., Durlak, J. A., & Weissberg, R. P. (2017). Promoting positive youth development through school-based social and emotional learning interventions: A meta-analysis of follow-up effects. Child Development, 88(4), 1156 to 1171. doi:10.1111/cdev.12864
  3. CASEL, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning: the five competency areas (casel.org).
  4. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org.

Questions were written for this page; the example decks are made up. These cards are for class discussion; they are not counseling or an assessment of any student. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.